We’ve already talked about winter on the blog earlier this year, so I guess it’s time to talk about Christmas? Some of you will smile, and others will curse my name, but it is technically coming up quickly. I should explain a little something for those of you who don’t understand the BTS of working in the media – the brands and events that we are attending right now are getting excited for the holidays because in our world we are always looking to the next big season. It may seem a bit backwards, but it’s also kind of exciting. So while I sift through gift guides and all things holidays (planning content for us well into December already), I wanted to bring you BTS at some of my favourite items I hope are waiting for me under the tree this year.

For those of you who follow along our on social media accounts, you’ll have seen that Catherine & I recently attended a holiday themed preview with our friends at Drake General Store. Over the years, it has become a destination that I visit often for unique gifts both for myself and those in my life that I want to buy something special for. I love unique gifts, they make gift giving a lot of fun! Design Your Own Bobbleheads is something that I have thought about giving to my family because of its quirkiness, there is so much to choose from. The holiday onesies (see below) at Drake General Store are something I get every year because 1. they are the most comfortable onesies I have ever worn and 2. make my heart happy. Do you know the secret behind onesies? Apparently, it is the Japanese kigurumi where the idea for them came from. Anyway, this year I am asking for Santa to send me two of the one I am wearing below with a matching one for Canela. Let’s see if he gets my letter in time!

I should mention that one reason I also love the Drake General Store onesies is because they give back to the community.

“The funds raised through the Drake General Store and Drake Properties Onesie programs support SickKids highest priority needs. Since 2016, these funds have helped fund the renovation of their image-guided therapy suites into state-of-the-art hybrid intervention/imaging facilities. It also gave SickKids the flexibility to replace the over 10-year-old MRI machine in the Cardiac Diagnostic and Intervention Unit, making diagnosis more precise; to date, we have raised $26,297! RCMP Our Mountie collection is back + better than ever. 10% of all officially licensed RCMP products go to the RCMP Foundation, a service dedicated to serving youth in challenging communities.”

From Canadiana (I’m a HUGE fan of all the retro CBC items) to the perfect hostess gifts, and everything in between that you can imagine, most of you on my shopping list can expect unique and one-of-a-kind gift from Drake General Store. Because I love you and I only want the best for you.

While we still have a little bit of time before these items hit the shelves, here’s a sneak at some of the items Catherine and I fell in love with on a sweltering day in July. Because it’s never too early to get excited for the holidays in my opinion.

A post shared by Do The Daniel (@dothedaniel) on Jul 25, 2018 at 5:38am PDT

For those of you in, or visiting Toronto, make sure to stop by Drake General Store to see some of the unique items they have for back-to-school before we jump into the excitement above. And of course join in on the social media conversation by following @drakegeneralstore on Instagram.

For more behind the scenes of this and other amazing brands we are working with around the world, make sure to follow along with the #DoTheDaniel Instagram account. We would love to have you join on our adventures!